The popularity of high wheels also led to more road accidents in France and Britain. (Created/Indian News18)

When the bike was invented in Europe during the nineteenth century, it was met with doubt and anxiety from doctors and scientists, who considered it unhealthy and dangerous. This same bike, which is now celebrated for physical fitness advantages, has been described by newspapers as a game that threatens society.

Initial models, such as “Daryena”, which was invented by Karl von Dores in 1817, appeared large wheels and considered strange. By the seventies of the nineteenth century, models such as “high wheels” and “Penny-Parthing” appeared, with a large front wheel and a small back wheel.

These early bikes were notorious to cause fall, and earned titles such as “Human Fall” and “dangerous game”. Many doctors are concerned that their riding is harmful to health.

Despite its rocky start, the bike soon became a symbol of freedom and reasoning at reasonable prices. When women began riding a bicycle, society considered it “immoral” because they were exposed to their bodies and clothes.

Early bikes were also expensive, making them a symbol of standing in urban areas. High wheels often cause fearful accidents and pedestrians, as newspapers are mocking those who fell. In rural areas, the bike was seen as a wonder move without a horse.

Health concerns continued, with doctors afraid of the harmful effects on nerves and spine due to the continuous cycling.

Iron horse

“Driseina”, Karl von Drais, “Draiseina”, “Iron Horse”. The newspapers warned, “It is dangerous for humans with legs. People will fall and suffer.”

In Germany, a young boy’s attempt to ride in laughter ended from the villagers who called her the “laughter machine”.

An exciting and crazy campaign

In the 1970s and eighties of the nineteenth century, a more advanced version of the bike appeared: high wheels, or Benny. With the huge front wheel and the small rear wheel, it was unlike anything that people saw before. Many noticed, “madness for anyone is an ordinary ride.”

In London, a rich young man bought high wheels and moved to the streets. While it was between the curve, the bike overthrew and sent it to the ground. The next day, a newspaper address took over the accident: “The boy’s journey failed, bicycles crushed.” The story caused the roar of laughter and soon became the city’s talk.

When the community described the gynecologist as inappropriate

In the nineties of the nineteenth and early twentieth century, women in America and Europe began to ride a bicycle, which sparked anger in newspapers and society, which was called “immoral” and “dangerous”. In 1896, a British paper warned, “If a woman rides a bike, her dignity will be thrown on the wind.” In France, a magazine mocked, “Women are now riding an iron monster instead of a horse.”

In London, a upper layer woman set out for her first ride. The spectators smiled, the children chanted, screaming, “Look, a woman flying!” Meanwhile, in many parts of India, people believed that “girls ride bikes will bring shame.”

The popularity of high wheels also led to more road accidents in France and Britain. Some cities have imposed a red flag, while London decided, “this metal monster must be controlled on the road.”

When the bike arrived for the first time in India

When it was introduced to India in the late nineteenth century, the bike was surprising. He was imported from England during the British Raj, appeared in cities like Bombay (Mumbai), Kalka and School. Initially, it was only affordable for British and wealthy officers, and earned titles such as “The Devil’s Cart” and “The Flying Bullock Cart”. In rural areas, people were afraid of a ghost car made by an English man.

Bikes were expensive in India, where the costs in the nineties were between 300 and 400 rupees while the wage of the monthly worker was only 10-15 rupees. Thus, it became a symbol of British officers, Indian landowners, and Nawabs.

Parsi merchants from Calcutta and Bombay were among the first to introduce bikes, and often ride them on Sundays in white dresses and hats.

Bike riding was not easy. Early models, such as “high wheels” or “periods of century”, were huge front wheels that were difficult in balance. People joked them with the “fallen vehicle”. Calcutta newspapers reported in the early twentieth century how “many scribes and papus would drop their bicycles on the way to the office, which provides a scene of passers -by.” Over time, the bike won the title of “Employee Girl”, as it became the preferred situation of the office’s book.

When the bike first reached villages and towns, it caused a mixture of wonders and doubts. Some shouted, saying, “How does he move on his own? He has a ghost!” Others mocked, “What kind of wisdom? A person stumbles in two wheels.” However, for many, the challenge carries a promise of prestige. “If you can learn to ride it, this will lead to great pride,” they notice.

In the twenties of the twentieth century, farmers in Punjab began using bicycles to travel to the market. Initially, they appreciated them so much that some people built separate rooms in their homes only to store them. By the thirties and forties of the twentieth century, a bike gift has become as the dowry became a symbol of position in many regions, a trend that lasted in the 1960s and 1970s. Even there are stories about the grooms that are shown on bicycles during the wedding processions